The Julio Franco example makes my point for me. Julio Franco is two 200-hit seasons away from the 3000 mark. While he won’t reach that now, he might’ve reached it if his career hadn’t been plagued by injury.

Ripken was a very good player and, as such, had a starting role as shortstop for an Orioles team which, if we’re honest, was really good a couple of years, mediocre for a few years, and really bad for most years. He played every game during that stretch, allowing him to just break the 3000 hit mark used as a benchmark for hall of famers.

His entry to the hall is because of that record, pure and simple. He was an adequate SS, but the sole reason he is getting in is longevity.

To get 3,000 you’ve got to be special.

You can’t pile up that many hits unless you earn a starting position with a major league team every year for a couple of decades.

Try it.

Longevity is a sign of quality. Nobody gets 3000 hits just playing so-so ball for 20 years. If you play so-so ball, you’ll ride the bench once you start aging.

To diminish what he did by attempting to make his entire career about his batting average is absurd.

He was a career .276 hitter. His legacy comes from simply playing long enough without getting injured (not that it isn’t a magnificent feat).

He was a really nice player… but the only reason he gets into the HOF is because he was beloved.

“And at least one author has made it clear that the Imus show was not a place to promote his book.”

http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6432232.html

“In light of recent remarks made on the program, Cal will not appear on the show as part of his national book tour,” publicist John Maroon told the Washington Times. Gotham’s publicity director Lisa Johnson confirmed to PW that Ripken would be a no-show, admitting that the appearance “was a really important part of the publicity lineup. But it was totally Cal’s decision,” she said. “It was totally nonnegotiable.”

Over the years, the Imus in the Morning show has proven to be an effective way to sell books—among his regular guests are Anna Quindlen, Mary Higgins Clark, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Tony Hendra and Tim Russert—but it remains to be seen if other authors and their publicists follow Ripken’s lead. On yesterday’s show, Newsweek editor and Imus regular Evan Thomas came to Imus’s defense, as did political columnist Tom Oliphant. But, as Lisa Johnson said, “We’ll see how this thing plays out.”